Findinternet

We run free public WiFi in South Africa.

Findinternet is part of Counet (Pty) Ltd. We built Coucal Connect, the sign-in page people see when they join the free WiFi at one of our venues.

Getting online costs the visitor nothing. Below is how the network pays for itself instead.

How it pays Work with us
The Coucal Connect sign-in page on a phone, asking for a name and phone number

What a visitor sees

Every venue has a router that sends new devices to the same sign-in page. It takes a few seconds to get through, and people see it every time they connect.

Sign-up form
Sign upName and number, plus an optional box to hear about internet at home.
Say hi on WhatsApp screen
Or say hi on WhatsAppOne tap opens a chat with our bot.
Choose free WiFi or a paid pass
Free or paidStay on the free pass, or buy a week or a month.
Online status with time remaining
OnlineA timer shows how long is left on the pass.

How it pays for itself

The WiFi is free for the people using it. The money comes from three other places, each paid by someone different.

1 Advertising

Ads around the edges of the page

We're setting up Google Ad Manager to show display ads around the sign-in page: a banner across the top, narrow ads down each side and one along the bottom. The form and buttons stay in the middle, so the ads never get in the way of connecting.

Each view is a real person on a phone, at a known venue and time of day. Later we may add a short optional video ad that gives faster WiFi. Skipping it still gets the visitor online.

Paid by advertisers, through Google
Ad
Ad
Ad
Ad

Planned ad positions around the current page

2 Home-internet leads

"Say hi for home WiFi"

A lot of people use public WiFi because they don't have internet at home. The portal has a button that opens WhatsApp so they can say hi to our bot. Sending that message, or ticking the box on the sign-up form, is them asking to be contacted. The bot then:

  1. asks them to share their home's location,
  2. checks it against the coverage maps of the internet providers we work with,
  3. if it's covered, takes their name and the best time to call,
  4. passes that to the provider as a sales lead.
Paid by internet providers, per lead
C
Coucal ConnectWhatsApp bot
Hi
Welcome! Tap Options and choose what you'd like help with.
Internet at home
Share your home's location and we'll check if it's covered.
📍 Location shared
Good news, your home is covered! Tell us your name and the best time to call.
3 WiFi passes

Paid passes for regulars

The free pass is a short session at a basic speed. People who use a venue often can buy a pass on the same page, paid by card through Netcash.

A pass belongs to the phone number it was bought with, so it works at any of our venues and can move to a new phone.

Paid by visitors who want more
FreeShort session, basic speed
R0
1 weekFull speed
R25
1 monthFull speed
R100

Current prices at live venues

How we treat people's details

We follow South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and Google's advertising policies. Nobody has to agree to marketing or watch an ad to use the free WiFi.

  • We only contact people who askHome-internet follow-ups go only to people who messaged us or ticked the box.
  • We don't sell phone numbersA lead goes only to the provider covering that person's home. Replying "stop" ends the messages.
  • Ads stay out of the wayThey sit around the edges of the page, and declining one still gets the visitor online.
  • We keep as little as we canWe store what we need to run the WiFi and clear old records on a schedule.

Get in touch

The portal is already running. We're now adding more venues and setting up advertising. If you run a venue, sell home internet or want to advertise, email us.

Hello@coucal.co.uk